Improved detection of cancer biomarkers through Metasurface-assisted Lab-on-Fiber probes enabling Point-of-Care biosensing

Lab-on-Fiber (LoF) technology is a research field aimed at transforming a simple optical fiber into a multifunctional probe, which exploits enhanced light-matter interaction for a variety of applications, with special aptitude for biosensing. An attractive thread in this scenario is the integration of plasmonic metasurfaces onto an optical fiber tip, known as optical fiber "meta-tips", leading to the development of a new generation of highly sensitive optrodes. Here we report on the latest achievements concerning the investigation of LoF probes assisted by plasmonic phase-gradient metasurfaces for the detection of small molecules as well as clinically relevant cancer biomarkers in the picomolar range. The high biosensing performance, joined with huge potential for miniaturization and integration, makes this platform an excellent candidate for the development of Point-of-Care (PoC) devices aimed at real-time and label-free detection of clinically relevant biomarkers offering several advantages over conventional procedures.